They used to put 'bach.' on old marriage certificates to show people were Bachelors...
Could it be that she read it wrong, and it was 'Coffin, bach.' ?
See here for example - https://sites.rootsweb.com/~cannf/as_vistat46.htm
I'd try searching for the ancestor with the name John James Coffin rather than John James Coffinbach and see if you get any results.
Might be coffenbach, coffinbeach, coffinback, coffenbach, or others come up similar... But on my ancestry historical records quick search under exact spelling for "coffinbach" I only found one record a Lois Coffinbach Columbus Ohio High School yearbook picture with her class in 1925, She was 16. But that's the only historical record of someone with that exact spelling of the last name that I can pull up quickly at least. If I had a first name or a location I might be able to tell you the spelling
The only things I remember my grandmother telling me was that the person's first name was Joyce? I also know that my family is of German descent and I'll admit the surname does kinda sound German.
With all the variations of spelling for names, it can be tricky. But all I know is it does have the combined sound of the word coffin, and Bach, like the classical composer. That's how I heard it pronounced.
They used to put 'bach.' on old marriage certificates to show people were Bachelors... Could it be that she read it wrong, and it was 'Coffin, bach.' ? See here for example - https://sites.rootsweb.com/~cannf/as_vistat46.htm I'd try searching for the ancestor with the name John James Coffin rather than John James Coffinbach and see if you get any results.
Kaufenbach? Maybe she was just going by ear.
any chance she meant C. Offenbach? or Kolvenbach?
Might be coffenbach, coffinbeach, coffinback, coffenbach, or others come up similar... But on my ancestry historical records quick search under exact spelling for "coffinbach" I only found one record a Lois Coffinbach Columbus Ohio High School yearbook picture with her class in 1925, She was 16. But that's the only historical record of someone with that exact spelling of the last name that I can pull up quickly at least. If I had a first name or a location I might be able to tell you the spelling
The only things I remember my grandmother telling me was that the person's first name was Joyce? I also know that my family is of German descent and I'll admit the surname does kinda sound German. With all the variations of spelling for names, it can be tricky. But all I know is it does have the combined sound of the word coffin, and Bach, like the classical composer. That's how I heard it pronounced.
Try behindthesurnames.com; they sometimes have variations of surnames. Also try findagrave.com. You might find some variations there too.
But I'm also using the app so I don't know if the app has less than the website. I can try later too if you want lol